Hospital politics have kept things interesting at Gaffney the last several years, and that isn’t going to change anytime soon it seems. Just when one doctor’s future at Gaffney is settled, another’s is about to be thrown into question!
After spending most of season 11 worried about Charles’ future, our concern will shift to another longtime member of the Chicago Med cast as we prepare for Goodwin to go to war to save her own job. This is a battle we’ve been preparing for since the season 11 finale, which teases that Goodwin’s job at Gaffney could be on the line; now it seems our fears have been confirmed.
In the official synopsis for the season 12 premiere, it’s teased that Goodwin defends herself under threat of being fired. It’s a reveal that isn’t entirely surprising given that Miranda had told Goodwin to pack up her things and encouraged her to quietly exit after suspecting that Goodwin leaked Theo’s medical files to the board to help save Charles’ job. What is interesting is to consider what the confirmation means in the big picture of things.
We know that there is going to be a time jump when season 12 begins, so does this mean that Goodwin has been fighting for her job during the entire span of time between the events of the season 11 finale and where we pick up in season 12? This seems to be the case given the way the synopsis notes that she’ll be under the threat of being fired.
If we had to guess, it seems likely that perhaps after the medical records were leaked, Miranda began a push for Goodwin to be fired; however, Goodwin likely did not back down from this fight, and it’s likely that it’s become a drawn-out situation. Given we see Dean confronting an administrator about budget cuts in the trailer for season 12, all signs point to Goodwin potentially being placed on a temporary leave while an investigation is to be conducted.
Given that Goodwin is still fighting for her job by the time the season picks up, we have to assume this has been a long ordeal with a lot of back and forth, but that the verdict will soon be coming in. We know that Goodwin is not going anywhere as S. Epatha Merkerson inked a new deal to return for season 12, but that doesn’t mean her job is safe.
There is a real possibility that Goodwin could be ousted from her position at Gaffney and potentially demoted, which would certainly shake things up at the hospital. It’s also possible that Goodwin could be out on a probationary period, which will put her under heightened scrutiny as the board reviews whether to keep her in place.
As much as we don’t want to see Goodwin bumped from her seat at the head of the table, it would be interesting to see how a change in the hospital leadership and her role could shake things up for both the better and worse. We’ve seen other medical shows like Grey’s Anatomy shake things up every so often with a rotating door of hospital chiefs running the hospital, but Chicago Med has really only ever seen Goodwin in power running the hospital.
Sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better, and it’s in the absence of someone that you realize their true value. Perhaps that’s what needs to happen for Gaffney’s board to finally realize the value Goodwin brings. And during that time, we would happily welcome the chance to see Goodwin returning to medicine and working more closely alongside the doctors and nurses of Gaffney!
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